1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to telephones and entertainment equipment (or xe2x80x9centertainment appliancesxe2x80x9d) and, in particular, to cordless telephones and remote controls for entertainment appliances. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a device that provides both telephonic and remote control capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, advances in the field of semiconductor fabrication have made it possible to manufacture devices, such as cordless telephones and universal remote controls, at costs and in sizes that are acceptable to wide segments of the buying public. Consequently, such devices have become common personal convenience items.
For the purposes of this document, the term xe2x80x9ccordless telephonexe2x80x9d refers to a telephone handset in which electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) is utilized, in lieu of a cable or telephone cord, to carry communications to and from the handset. The term refers primarily to relatively low-power handsets that are designed to communicate with a corresponding base station (which is connected to a building""s internal wiring via a telephone cord). However, the term also includes xe2x80x9cwireless telephonesxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccellular telephones,xe2x80x9d which are not limited to communicating with a single, low-power base station.
One of the advantages of cordless telephones is that they are easy to keep nearby for use in answering incoming calls. For instance, if a person wanted to sit on a couch and watch television, that person might place a cordless telephone within arm""s reach on a nearby coffee table or end table. Then, if a call were to come in, the call could be answered without rising from the couch. Furthermore, being cordless, the phone would not present the tripping hazard of a cord strung from a wall outlet across the floor to the coffee table or end table.
The universal remote control is another type of personal convenience item that has attained widespread acceptance and utilization as advances in the semiconductor industry have reduced the associated production costs and size requirements. For the purposes of this document, the term xe2x80x9cuniversal remote controlxe2x80x9d refers to a handheld device that accepts operator input and, in response, transmits corresponding control signals to entertainment appliances via electromagnetic radiation (such as via pulses of infrared light). The term refers primarily to a single device with multiple operating modes which can be elected individually, thereby facilitating the remote control of multiple entertainment appliances (e.g., a television set, a video cassette recorder (VCR), a stereo receiver, etc.). However, the term should also be understood to include a remote control that can only be utilized to operate a single device (such as a remote control that can be used to control a television set but not a VCR).
If a person were to sit on a couch to watch TV, in addition to placing a cordless phone nearby, one might also place a universal remote control nearby. That way, if a call were to come in, the remote control could be used, for example, to quickly reduce the volume of the entertainment appliance before the call is answered. Clearly, therefore, cordless telephones and universal remote controls each provide certain benefits with regard to their respective fields of application (i.e., the fields of personal communications and utilization of entertainment appliances, respectively).
However, conventional cordless telephones and conventional universal remote controls are typically limited to manual operation. That is, when, for example, an operator wants the volume of an entertainment appliance to be reduced, the operator must locate the universal remote control and operate the volume reduction button. However, as recognized by the present invention, manual operations entail a lesser degree of convenience than would be enjoyed if those operations were to be automated. Moreover, since one of the primary objectives of cordless telephones and universal remote controls is to optimize the operator""s personal convenience, any significant increase in convenience would be important. The present invention recognizes that manual operations are inconveniences and that conventional cordless telephones and conventional universal remote controls could be substantially improved if any heretofore manual operations could be automated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,624 issued to Steven M. Pope discloses that remote control functionality can be added to a cordless telephone assembly including a handset and a base unit. In particular, the Pope patent relates to a cordless telephone adapted for controlling entertainment appliances via the base unit while the cordless telephone is being utilized in a room other than the room containing the entertainment appliances and the base unit. Accordingly, the Pope patent does not teach automating any telephonic or remote control features. To the contrary, Pope explicitly advises against automatically muting a compact disk (CD) player (for example), in case someone is listening in the room with the CD player while the cordless telephone is being utilized in a different room.
Pope also discusses U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,987 issued to McDonough, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,102 issued to Smith et al., and Korean Patent no. 90-7064. In particular,. Pope explains that the Korean patent relates to a handset that includes an infrared transmitter for muting a television. Further, according to Pope, the McDonough and Smith et al. patents disclose base units that automatically transmit a mute signal to an entertainment appliance either in response to an off-hook condition or in response to activity at the base unit, respectively. None of the above patents, however, contain any suggestion to provide a device that can be customized by an operator to change the way automatic responses are made to changing conditions, where the conditions may relate to an entertainment appliance (such as when a channel is changed) and/or to the communications equipment (such as when a new call comes in).
In contrast to the prior art devices, the present invention relates to a combination cordless telephone and universal remote control that includes a programmable mode controller. This mode controller allows an operator to customize how responses are made to changing conditions, thereby allowing the operator to enjoy greater personal convenience, relative to the prior art devices.
The present invention relates to a cordless communication and control device having a handset that includes communications equipment and remote control equipment. The communications equipment provides cordless telephone functionality, and the remote control equipment provides for remote control of one or more entertainment appliances. The handset also includes a mode controller in communication with the communications equipment and the remote control equipment. The mode controller provides at least one convenience mode. When a convenience mode is active, the mode controller responds to detection of an incoming call by automatically limiting utilization of the communications equipment and/or one or more entertainment appliances, based on the active convenience mode.
In a first embodiment, the cordless communication and control device automatically limits the utilization by automatically preventing the communications equipment from producing an audible indication of the incoming call. In a second embodiment, the cordless communication and control device limits the utilization by automatically causing the remote control equipment to reduce the volume of an entertainment appliance.
All objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.